Washington @ Oregon St. preview
Gill Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2018 ) Oregon St. 69, Washington 66
Washington repelled a second-half charge from Oregon on Thursday night to remain alone atop the Pac-12 standings. Oregon State also won Thursday to remain two games off the pace and will try to gain ground Saturday afternoon when it hosts the first-place Huskies.
At Oregon on Thursday, Washington held a 51-42 lead before the Ducks reeled off 14 unanswered points to take a 56-51 advantage with 2:33 remaining. But the Huskies’ defense took charge from there, not allowing another point in a 61-56 win – their eighth straight victory. At 6-0, it’s also Washington’s best conference start in 35 years, and the Huskies head into the weekend with a 1.5-game lead over 5-2 Arizona and Arizona State. Oregon State, meanwhile, is another half-game off the pace after Thursday’s 90-77 win over visiting Washington State as the Beavers improved to 4-0 at home in Pac-12 play.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT WASHINGTON (15-4, 6-0): Sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell finished with a game-high 20 points against Oregon, including three clutch free throws with 1.6 seconds left to put the Huskies on top 59-56. Nowell averages a team-leading 16.8 points per game and also contributes 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per outing. Forward Noah Dickerson (13.1 points, team-most 6.5 rebounds) and guard David Crisp (11.6 points) also average in double figures, but it’s the Huskies’ matchup-zone defense that’s the most notable, holding opponents to a conference lows in points (64.5) and field-goal percentage (39.8)
ABOUT OREGON STATE (12-6, 4-2): The Beavers put up some impressive numbers in beating the Cougars, shooting 52.3 percent, finishing with a 39-24 rebound advantage and racking up 23 assists on 34 made field goals. Oregon State’s Big Three (forward Tres Tinkle and guards/brothers Stephen and Ethan Thompson) combined for 63 points, 14 rebounds, 17 assists and six steals in the win and all are averaging at least 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Beavers rank only seventh in the conference in scoring (74.6 per game) but are tops in field-goal percentage (47.0) and rank second with 16.2 assists per outing.
TIP-INS
1. Oregon State has won four of the last six meetings, including a 69-66 win in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
2. Washington had a season-high 19 turnovers against Oregon, with 12 coming in the second half.
3. Oregon State F Kylor Kelley, a 7-foot junior-college transfer, is leading the nation with his average of 3.94 blocked shots per game and needs four blocks to break the program’s single-season record of 73 set by Eric Moreland in 2012-13.
PREDICTION: Oregon State 71, Washington 70